


Far Out

by Zingenmir (DawnFire360)



Series: PPC AUs [2]
Category: Protectors of the Plot Continuum, Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Alien Planet, Aliens, Alternate Universe - Young Wizards Fusion, First Meetings, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:21:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21538918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnFire360/pseuds/Zingenmir
Summary: Young Wizards AU, prequel to "Gambit." In which wizards Jacques and Dawn meet for the first time, and work together despite beginning to clash.
Series: PPC AUs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552252
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	Far Out

They met on some planet Dawn could never quite remember the name of, in a theater that just plain didn’t sit well with her. That might have been because of the noise; then again, it could easily have been the fact that there was a _really_ weird energy coming from multiple points in the room.

“You look so sweet!” someone yelled at her over the noise. She looked up and did a double-take: the man looked human, for a change!

Also kind of...attractive, if at least a few years older than her. Maybe more. She was bad at guessing ages.

“Uh, thanks?” she called back, and drew away when he shifted closer. “Don’t lick me!”

The man laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “Not from around here, are you?”

“Like you are?” Dawn retorted. “Um— _Dai Stiho_ , if that means something to you, by any chance…?”

The man’s eyes widened momentarily. “ _Oh_ ,” he said. Suddenly he was grinning. “So _that’s_ how you got here! _Dai Stiho_ , Cousin. Been a wizard long?”

Dawn shrugged. “A couple years now. How about you?”

“About the same,” was the response. He offered a hand in a familiar human handshake. “Jacques Bonnefoy, and _you_ are?”

Dawn blinked, wondering why he seemed to be flirting again. Maybe she was just seeing things, after being licked on and off by strangers saying hello. “Dawn McKenna,” she said, shaking his hand. It was reassuringly warm—perfectly normal.

“Nice to meet—”

That, of course, was the moment it all went to hell.

*

“Well,” Dawn said later. She wondered if she looked as exhausted as she felt. “That’s definitely how I wanted to spend my day.”

Jacques chuckled tiredly. “You’ve got some soot. Right there, on...well, the whole left side of your face.”

“Yay,” Dawn muttered, and gave it a half-hearted swipe. “Listen, can I give you a lift back to Earth? You sound like you at least live in the same hemisphere, and I kind of owe you one now—”

“Oh, no, I’m not from _Earth_ ,” Jacques said, laughing. “Hell, no. I’m from the Boeshane Peninsula. Fifty-first century, baby.”

Dawn stared at him. She’d bristled a little at the way he’d said her planet’s name, but sheer surprise muted it. “You’re from—really? I mean, I’ve met aliens, obviously, but I never met a human wizard from that far in the future.”

Jacques smiled, and spread his arms. “You’re looking at one. Come visit sometime! It’s a great place.”

“Right.”

“You’ll love it so much you’ll never want to go back.”

“Right,” Dawn repeated, slower. “Because, what, my planet isn’t as good?”

Jacques shrugged. “Hey, you said it, not me.”

“Right,” Dawn said. She felt too tired to be sharp, but the intent was there. “Nice working with you. I’ll be going now.” She turned on her heel and began running over the spell that would take her home.

“You don’t need to get _offended_ about it,” Jacques said. “It’s just a fact. My home time is awesome compared to yours.”

“Have you ever even _been_ to Earth?” Dawn demanded. “In my time?”

“No, but I’ve heard—”

“Yeah, I’m out,” Dawn said. She completed the spell and vanished, fuming.

Jacques stood for a minute, frowning at the spot where she’d been, before he turned and headed back to civilization.

*

Three weeks later, Dawn had settled back into normal life. Of course, normal life these days involved careful conversations with Canada geese, but hey, that was kind of cool, wasn’t it?

What wasn’t as cool was trying to convince a very obviously alien wizard that no, it wasn’t a good idea for her to enrol in the same university, because sooner or later she’d be asked to take off her costume and not be able to. Not to mention all the paperwork. And _then_ they’d landed smack in the middle of the visiting wizard’s Ordeal, which was _not_ something Dawn wanted to be involved in, but hey, apparently she didn’t call the shots on things like this.

And _that_ , of course, was when another visitor showed up.

“I thought you didn’t even like Earth,” Dawn said. She would have crossed her arms as she stared at him, but for the fact that she and Kay’la (well, Kayhiklraikla, but Kay’la served as a good nickname for people who didn’t have such good control over their throat shapes) were busy holding down the cover of a storm drain and she didn’t have arms to spare.

“Well, I’ve never been,” Jacques said. He strolled closer, annoyingly nonchalant. “You were right about that, anyway. Hel _lo_ ,” he added to Kay’la, whose purple cheeks gained a swirling blue tint. “Who are—?”

“Watch out!” Dawn yelled. Kay’la looked up just in time for a swirl of wind to knock her backwards. “Oh, _drat_.”

“Don’t you swear?” Jacques asked. For all the levity in his voice, he was still quick to stomp a foot on the drain cover before it could shift more than an inch. “Okay, what are we dealing with?”

“Kay’la’s Ordeal,” Dawn said quickly. “She’s fighting this...weather controlling thing. We don’t have all the details yet. Kay’la, you okay?”

“Yes!” Kay’la rolled to her feet. “I think I’ve got an idea!”

“Awesome!” Dawn said. She looked at Jacques, who shrugged.

“Why not? Sounds like a blast.” He tipped his head up as Kay’la walked back to them. “Like I was saying, I’m Jacques Bonnefoy, time traveling wizard extraordinaire. So, what’s the plan?”


End file.
